Rehire or Fire Bush? The Hightower Report Card
Cultural and social commentator Lyz Bly gets vocal about current political trends with an unabashedly feminist lens, discussing the facts behind Bush's record with women's issues, and how it affects women who vote.

In a recent edition of Cleveland's daily paper, the editors ran a few letters from women who were fed up with the Bush administration’s policies on women’s health and equality. The letters fell under the appropriate headline, “Why would women vote for Bush?” I had been asking myself this question for months and it was wearing on me that week in particular, as I’d just learned that a female friend of mine from Columbus is a Republican and plans to vote for Bush in November. I cut the letters and the headline out of the paper and sent it to her, along with several other articles containing facts on the current administration’s record on women’s issues. I haven’t heard from her since I sent the package and I wonder if I’ve created a rift in our friendship; however, I don’t regret sending her factual information on the ways in which Bush is hurting people, ruining individual lives, as well as our collective economy.

But this burning question, – “Why vote for Bush?” – extends beyond women. It is a question we should all be asking. Ordinary Americans often make important political decisions based on their feelings about a Presidential candidate; they are concerned about whether or not he (and since I’m referring to those people running for President, I will not include the mandatory “or she”) is a strong leader, they want to know if his values match theirs, they want to be able to relate to him – he should seem friendly, approachable (even though most people will never “approach” him beyond witnessing his image on their flat screen TVs). While these attributes may be important in a neighbor, friend, spouse or partner, if we were business owners, most of us would not hire someone based solely on these attributes. Instead, we would look at their past job performance, maybe even look at their college transcripts. And if there were a few people who were equally qualified for the job, then we might make our final hiring decision based on a candidate’s personality.

The problem with political campaigns for President is that the facts on the incumbent’s record are not in our faces 24/7. What we see are slickly produced advertisements of the incumbent looking all strong, noble, and earnest. He talks about “leadership,” “values,” “the future of America.” Some viewers get misty eyed, others puff out their chests as a sign of patriotism; they buy the rhetoric – the spin – put forth in political advertisements and in carefully scripted television interviews. But the truth about Bush’s job performance is out there, you just have to do a little research, find the right sources, because the incumbent President isn’t going to broadcast his four-year report card as part of a campaign advertisement.

In August, in recognition of the Republican National Convention, The Hightower Lowdown, a monthly newsletter published out of New York, presented a well-researched job performance review on Bush, citing facts from governmental agencies like the Congressional Budget Office, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Department of Defense. So, blot the mist from your eyes, lower your chests, and read just a sampling of the facts put forth by The Hightower. Review them as if you were hiring W. for a key position in your small family business. If, after perusing this report card, you plan to hire him for four more years, I hope you don’t really run your own business, because you’re probably going to run it into the ground due to weak management and poor employee performance.

The Hightower report begins with the economy; the federal deficit under Bush is $2.3 trillion (projected through 2011 by U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, a nonpartisan auditor), and in 2004 alone, the deficit is $450 billion. When Bush took office in 2000 there was a federal surplus of $5.6 trillion (projected over 10 years). The average growth in income for Americans in 2000-02 (the most recent years that this data was available) was negative 5.7 percent; if this is adjusted for inflation the number is even more dismal – it was negative 9.2 percent. Hourly production (non-supervisory) wage earners saw a 0.6 percent increase in their earnings in 2003. In the same year, CEO’s pay increased 27 percent; the ratio of CEO to worker pay in 2003 was 300 to one.

Bush’s record on jobs shouldn’t be news to Greater Clevelanders. The number of jobs lost since Bush took office is 1.2 million; compare this with the 21 million jobs that were created during the Clinton administration. In July when The Hightower went to press the unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent, and the underemployment (meaning people who have taken lower paying and/or part time jobs and are no longer receiving unemployment benefits) was at 9.6 percent.

When it comes to quality of life issues, Bush’s report card is equally abysmal. The number of people who have become uninsured since 2000 is 3.8 million (again, things have gotten worse, not better in the last four years; under Clinton 2.3 million people gained health insurance). And since Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Act (education initiative) was passed in 2001, the administration has under-funded it $26.4 billion; this year alone, it was under-funded by $9.4 billion. Again, these numbers shouldn’t be surprising to Northeast Ohioans, as many of us have witnessed teacher lay-offs, after-school program cuts, and decreases in bus and other services that are vital to working parents.

The last fact from The Hightower that I will mention is demonstrative of Bush’s allegiance to what he has affectionately – and disgustingly – termed, “The haves and the have mores.” The average tax cut for the top one percent of earners under Bush is $96,634. The average tax break for the lower sixty percent of workers under Bush’s plan is a meager $350.

So there you have it. Since Bush was inaugurated more than one million people have lost their jobs. Nearly four million people have lost their health care. Incomes have decreased by close to six percent. The country is deep in debt. And this is only a fraction of statistics in The Hightower report. Would you hire this man to meet a quota selling bikes in a bike shop? Deliver packages on time and efficiently? To responsibly keep the books for a midsize hotel? Plan a menu within a budget for your catering business? I didn’t think so. Then why would you hire (vote for) him in November? If you like his personality, if he shares your values, you – we all – would be better off if you would just invite him to your place for dinner instead.

The Hightower Lowdown (Volume 6, Number 8), August 2004. www.HightowerLowdown.org

By Cool Cleveland columnist Lyz Bly (:divend:)